In 2011, the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) launched a citywide project called accelerate77, aimed at accelerating grassroots sustainability initiatives throughout Chicago’s 77 community areas. The project did this by identifying the initiatives and connecting them to one another, resource providers, and policy makers in a city-wide Sharing Approaches that Work Conference. The accelerate77 project has led to the formation of theChicago Sustainability Leaders Network (CSLN). As the organizing sponsor of the network, ICA is currently engaging members of the CSLN, a network of local activists and community organizations/organizers throughout Chicago, in collaborative change making efforts.

The Collaborative Projectsworking group has made planning headway in three main sub-groups:

·Marketing team is creating flyers and other marketing materials for outreach and PR.

·Impact Planning, Evaluation, and Structure team is creating the impact measures and evaluations for the events.

·Community Outreach team is connecting to partners for the events and contributing to event design.

Theworking group is excited to announce the first event in the Nourish Comm(unity)event series:

Eco-Justice: an Expansive View is a joint venture between the Uptown Coastal Initiative and the Nourish Comm(unity) series. The event focuses on the intersection of Eco-Justice and the coast, exploring the way human engagement along the coast intersects with justice and health for our communities and our planet. We are delighted to be partnering on this session with the American Indian Center. Learn more on their website and be sure to check out their Indigenous Science Days Facebook page, too! Additional partners to be announced.

CSLN Business Cards are Here!

Members at the meeting suggested that it would be beneficial to outreach on behalf of CSLN at community events. We created CSLN business cards to help with this exact situation! If you are hosting an event, networking, or talking to members of your community, we encourage you to use these printable business cards to invite others to learn more about and join the CSLN.